HIPER has a great look going on with this keyboard. The brushed aluminum finish has a classy look and doesn't show fingerprints as much as a highly polished surface. This will look very elegant next to a silver aluminum case, but HIPER also offers this keyboard in black with a similar brushed treatment. I must admit that I like the concept of an alloy keyboard, but…

…while the bezel is aluminum, the keys are plastic…

…and so is the bottom and the flip-down feet. As you can probably tell, I'm a bit less than enthusiastic about the low aluminum/plastic ratio of this “alloy” keyboard. On the positive side, HIPER uses a short stroke rubber-membrane key action that should translate into quiet, positive keyboarding.

It is, however very thin and the overall dimensions give the keyboard a pleasing sense of scale. In other words, the proportions look just right. The keyboard can be used sitting flat on the desktop, or the plastic feet can be deployed according to the preference of the user. The keys don't rise above the plane of the bezel a much as more conventional keyboards, further adding to this keyboard's sleekness and overall appearance.

Compared to my workhorse Logitech Elite, the HIPER keyboard is much more compact and has a more “classic” look. Should I decide to switch to the HIPER ‘board, I'd net quite a few extra square inches of desktop space. However, the actual area that the keys occupy is about the same when comparing the two keyboards.